For Just A Moment
by Jazlynn
Summary: One-shot. A simple mission can stir many memories. What one chooses to make of those memories is up to the Nobody. Marluxia-centric. Caution! Spoilers!


**Author's Note:** _Hm. Don't know where the inspiration for this came from. I guess I wanted to play around with writing Final Fantasy XIII. With Kingdom Hearts. I suppose it's alright. I need to get back into the practice of writing in third person. Well, I'll let you decide if this is good or not. Review and let me know! And maybe give constructive criticism? Please? I'll welcome it greatly if you do. So, hopefully, enjoy!_

_BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD! DON'T READ UNLESS YOU HAVE REACHED CHAPTER 12 IN FINAL FANTASY XIII!_

**For Just a Moment  
**_Written by Jazlynn_

Marluxia opened his eyes. There was nothing but an endless teal ocean graced by a pinkish gold sky and a fleeting orange glow just beyond the horizon. A cool breeze rustled the assassin's hair. He breathed in the crisp ocean air, reminiscing about past memories. Not his memories, but memories nevertheless.

He was here on reconnaissance. He was ordered to gather as much information about this world as possible. After all, it was a world that no one from the Organization had ever seen before. Well, almost no one. Marluxia wouldn't tell them that he knew of this world. He knew that this would give him a chance to return home. There was no need for some shady character to be wandering around. Besides, it had been a long time since anyone had seen him. He was supposedly in the world's capital, Eden, protecting the creature that supported life.

This world was known as Cocoon. It was a place of beauty and structure – a paradise that provided everything its citizens needed. A paradise provided for by fal'Cie. The fal'Cie gave everything to the citizens of Cocoon. They supplied light, power, food, and everything imaginable. However, the fal'Cie only had one problem. Their servants – the l'Cie. Humans chosen to serve the fal'Cie by force, given a focus and terrible powers. They were greatly feared by all of Cocoon. But not as much as the one fear that everyone shared. The fear of Pulse. The world below Cocoon. Hell on earth.

Marluxia once feared Pulse. He feared everything about anything outside of Cocoon. The worst fears imaginable were the Pulse l'Cie. According to legend, Cocoon was attacked by l'Cie from Pulse that took on the form of a terrible creature – Ragnarok. The l'Cie that served the Sanctum – that served Cocoon – became heroes in their endeavours to stop Ragnarok. The Pulse l'Cie became the villains of every child's games. They were even in his own when he was young. He hated the Pulse l'Cie. They were monsters. He thought they deserved to die. But not anymore. After all, was he really that much different?

Marluxia gazed out across the vast beach from his spot on the pier. A memory stirred. Not one of his, but a memory nevertheless.

_Two children chased each other around the sandy beach, frolicking and playing all afternoon. There was a boy and a girl. Both had light pink hair and faded blue eyes, though the boy looked slightly older than the girl._

"_Hey, Claire! Let's play battle!" The boy cried out excitedly._

_The girl showed great enthusiasm for the idea. Her whole face lit up and she jumped up and down. "Okay! I'll be the soldier!"_

_The boy shook his head showing great disapproval. "No, you can't be the soldier."_

_The girl stood still and pouted. "Why not? I want to be a soldier!"_

_The boy looked at her sternly. "But you can't. You're a girl. You aren't strong enough to be the soldier._ You_ can be the l'Cie._ I'll _be the soldier."_

"_But Liam!" The girl whined. "You_ always _get to be the soldier! I don't want to be the stupid l'Cie! Go get Serah and make _her_ the l'Cie!"_

"_But Claire, you're a girl. I would beat you either way so you have to be the bad guy!"_

"_I could still be tough! I could be strong like you!" The girl stated, hoping that she could get her way._

_But the boy would not give in. He was resilient and always got his way. And so, the children went on playing; one a glorious hero and the other... a miserable l'Cie._

Marluxia knew of the boy's fate. That child would go on to become a topnotch soldier – a member of the Guardian Corps. It was only shortly after that one afternoon that the boy decided to move away to Eden to live with his uncle. He had wanted to learn everything about Eden and the big city life. The boy would never see his parents again, nor his little sisters, Claire and Serah.

But perhaps a remnant of that boy could find them. Not the parents for they died shortly after the boy's departure, but the sisters. Marluxia remembered how the boy had always wanted to see Claire again. Perhaps that was the real reason why Marluxia decided to take on this mission – not to get further in the Organization by taking initiative, but because he wanted to meet with what was left of what was once his family.

Marluxia left his spot on the pier and began to search the seaside city of Bodhum. It really didn't look all that different. However, there was something that seemed off. It made the beach look different. Bigger perhaps. Where were all the people? Bodhum was usually full of people. It currently looked almost like a ghost town. There were only a few people wandering around the beach, none of whom Marluxia recognized. Perhaps they knew what had happened.

The Graceful Assassin approached a man who was seated in the golden sand nearby. The man seemed almost passive and distant. It was as if he was lost within himself, dwelling on some sort of great sorrow. Then again, that seemed to fit the description of everyone around town. So really, there was nothing to set this man apart from the rest of them.

"Excuse me?" Marluxia said, almost flinching as the man turned an icy glare on him.

"What do you want?" He retorted bitterly.

Marluxia frowned. So, apparently common courtesy had gone downhill. "I was just curious as to what happened here. I remember this place always being full of people."

The man stood up and took on an aggressive demeanour. Marluxia backed up slowly and put his hands in the air. It wasn't that he was frightened or anything – he could never be frightened anymore – but this kind of behaviour wasn't normal for a citizen of Bodhum.

"Are you a l'Cie?" The man demanded angrily.

Marluxia was thrown off for a moment. Confusion was one thing, not understanding something was another.

"_What_?" Marluxia retorted in disgust. "You suspect me of being one of those_ demons_?"

The man seemed to calm down, though he still didn't seem to trust Marluxia. "Sorry. It just strikes me as strange that you aren't aware of the Purge."

"Purge?" Marluxia repeated, unsure what to make of what the 'Purge' was.

The man rolled his eyes and let out a sigh of frustration. "The Purge! You know, PSICOM's idea of cleansing Bodhum of citizens who might have come in contact with the Pulse fal'Cie meaning many families have lost loved ones to Pulse?"

Marluxia's eyes widened upon hearing this news. A Pulse fal'Cie had been in Cocoon? Near Bodhum? It seemed so surreal. His past life fantasies as a child had become a reality. Only, he wasn't one of the soldiers anymore who could do anything about it. And if people were being lost to Pulse, did that mean...

"Do you know if Claire or Serah were purged?" Marluxia immediately burst out. "They still lived here, right? You know who I'm talking about, don't you?"

The man gave him a funny look. "I know nothing of any Claire. But as for Serah, you wouldn't happen to be talking about Serah Farron, would you?"

Marluxia nodded. Although this man didn't know Claire, Serah was at least a start. "Yes, Serah Farron. Do you know where she is? Is she safe?"

The man scowled. "That demon girl is the reason why the Purge happened in the first place!"

Marluxia remembered what it was like to feel hatred. He would probably be feeling it now were he capable. The things the man had just said were completely unacceptable.

"No!" The assassin stated angrily. "Serah could never have been the reason for something involving a Pulse fal'Cie!"

The man drew a knife and Marluxia was forced to back off.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about what's been going on in Bodhum!" He shouted. "That girl, Serah, is a l'Cie and is the reason why everyone is gone!"

The man was instantly silenced in a flurry of rose petals as Marluxia glared daggers upon him. He held his scythe out towards the man in a lethal manner, ready to strike at any given moment. The man was completely stunned.

"You... you _are_ a l'Cie, aren't you?" He stammered, now very afraid.

"No." Marluxia replied darkly. "I'm just a Nobody. Barely human enough to even become a l'Cie. And don't you dare blame something like this on my little sister. Whatever Serah's intentions were, they were not to harm Cocoon."

Instead of killing the man like he was eagerly tempted to do, the assassin summoned a portal to bring him away from Bodhum. He needed to go somewhere away from this place. He needed to go somewhere where he might belong. Somewhere like Pulse. Hell on earth where all manners of monsters tend to rip each other apart. At least, that's what he had heard. He was on a reconnaissance mission, wasn't he? It was his job to find out.

As the darkness enveloped him, he thought of his sisters. 'Lost to Pulse' was how the man had put it. What exactly did that mean? Did it mean that all those people were killed? Or were they simply being exiled to Pulse? No. The army wouldn't want a threat lingering. They would most likely kill those being purged. So what did that mean for Serah and Claire?

Well, if Serah was a l'Cie, she would have the power to escape the army. Maybe. But Claire... Claire wasn't a l'Cie. Not that he knew of. How would she be able to defend herself? The answer was simple. Against the army, she couldn't.

As the darkness faded away, Marluxia found himself in a place reminiscent of other worlds he had visited. Green fields bordered by mountains stretched out as far as they eye could see welcomed the Nobody along with various different creatures that roamed the earth. To Marluxia, this place didn't seem much different from the savannahs of the Pride Lands. So this was Pulse. It made him wonder what he had ever been afraid of.

There was nothing left for the assassin to do but wander. Perhaps he would fight a few of the creatures to see how terrible they really were. The smaller ones didn't seem so powerful. Then again, without any backup, Marluxia wasn't going to run into battle head-on. That would be foolish and, perhaps, the last thing he might ever do. And so, Marluxia wandered.

There really wasn't anything interesting about Pulse at all. It was the same all over aside from some nastier creatures that came about. Creatures that could be avoided easily. Yet, Marluxia had finally found something of interest. There was a massive fissure in the ground. It looked as if it had literally been carved out by something. By what, he hadn't the slightest idea. The ground began to shake and Marluxia got the feeling he would find out soon enough.

He lowered himself to the ground to stabilize himself. Standing clearly wasn't the best option when the ground was shaking so violently. After a few moments of shaking, something emerged from a hold in the fissure. It was massive and round and was travelling quite fast. Was this perhaps some sort of fal'Cie? It must have been.

The Nobody watched curiously as the thing slowed to a stop. He heard the sound of clanking metal and watched on as six individuals seemed to emerge from within the fal'Cie. These must have been Pulse natives. Well, a part of this mission was to observe the locals, right? Marluxia quickly decided that it would be best to follow these people. Marluxia drew the black hood of his coat over his head and quickly kept pace behind the group. The time for being inconspicuous was finally at hand. He could not allow these people to notice him.

The task turned out to be easier than he had expected. The trail that these Pulsians decided to follow winded its way through grassy passages in the mountainside and it was simple to hide behind the various rocks. As Marluxia peered around a corner, he found the group moving ahead. Except for one. A pink-haired woman had stopped walking and began to turn around. Marluxia immediately withdrew, trying his best to conceal his presence. He then heard voices.

"Hey, Lightning, something wrong?" A masculine voice asked.

So the woman's name was Lightning? It was a peculiar name. Then again, people in Cocoon were notorious for having drastically different names. Claire, Gadot, Snow, Lightning. What difference was there? Well, this was Pulse after all. For all Marluxia knew, Lightning could possibly have been a common name here.

"I thought I heard something." The woman replied.

"It was probably nothing." Another woman explained. "Now hurry up, else we'll turn Cie'th."

Cie'th. These were l'Cie! Marluxia was following l'Cie! The situation had now become rather dangerous. If these l'Cie discovered his presence, they could try and kill him. Then again, he could always use the darkness to escape. However, that would be the worst case scenario.

Marluxia strained to hear anymore conversation that was to be made by the l'Cie. He heard a long drawn out sigh and then the sound of footsteps moving away from the area. The assassin himself let out a sigh of relief. He was safe. For now.

After a moment, he peered around the corner to find that the group had carried on and that he could follow once more. He hadn't a clue as to the destination of the l'Cie, but he was curious to find out. It was all part of the mission.

The assassin was forced to stop once more as he approached a larger area. This place... it was like paradise. The gardens Marluxia catered to back at the Castle that Never Was paled in comparison to this place. Lush grass, vibrant floral life, the relaxing sound of waterfalls... it must have been a spring of some sort. The Graceful Assassin was tempted to explore the place so badly. There was only one thing stopping him.

Two l'Cie were conversing with each other while a few of the others lingered further ahead. Marluxia kept himself hidden and tried his best to listen in on the conversation. Now that he thought about it, the man seemed very familiar. Was that... Snow? Marluxia vaguely remembered Snow. He had arrived in Bodhum the day before Liam had gone to Eden. The only reason why Marluxia remembered him was because of his name and bleach blonde hair.

And then the man said a name that convinced Marluxia that this was indeed Snow. Serah. He knew Serah. After that, any part of the conversation had been forgotten to the Nobody. Maybe Snow knew where she was. Maybe he knew where Claire was. Marluxia took a step forward. He could go ask right now – get the answers he'd been looking for!

The assassin stopped dead in his tracks. He felt something press against the back of his neck and, although his hood blocked most of the pressure, he was certain that the object was some sort of sword. He'd been caught. Although, it didn't appear as if any of the other l'Cie had taken notice.

"Who are you and why are you following us?"

Lightning. Marluxia got the feeling that she was on to him the moment he began following the group. The Nobody stayed silent, curious as to what the woman would do. More pressure was placed on his neck. He really didn't want to attract the attention of the other l'Cie. Perhaps he could deal with this woman alone.

"I will answer your question if you lower your weapon and allow me to face you." He told her in a low voice.

There was a moment of hesitation. For a moment, Marluxia believed that Lightning would not comply, yet slowly but surely, the pressure was released and the weapon removed from his neck. Slowly, the assassin turned around to face the woman.

The moment he came to fully face her, thick vines shot up through the ground, violently twisting and turning. Marluxia quickly jumped aside as Lightning stumbled back, stunned from the shock. Before she could call out to her comrades, the vines had completely blocked her path. The assassin darted off down the path, expecting the woman to follow. If it was a confrontation this woman wanted, it was a confrontation she was going to get.

"Come back here!" She shouted out angrily as she chased after him.

Marluxia stopped as he returned to the first clearing and immediately spun around, summoning his scythe as he did so. Lightning had already drawn her weapon as she ran towards him. No words needed to be spoken. Both opposing warriors rushed forward with their weapons coming together to clash in a clamour of metal. The assassin jumped back as well as the commando, each holding their ground before clashing once more.

Both warriors fought continuously, blades colliding furiously with each swing. However, the fight decided to take a turn for the worse for Marluxia. Lightning jumped up into the air, spinning around before shooting at Marluxia. The bullet connected with his scythe, the shockwave throwing the assassin off balance. Finally vulnerable, Lightning dashed forward to swing her gunblade at Marluxia. The Graceful Assassin managed to evade the weapon, but was not quick enough to prevent Lightning from pulling the hood of his coat back.

Marluxia fell to the ground – identity exposed – as Lightning made an effortless landing. In an instance, the blade was back at Marluxia's neck and Lightning stood above him. For the first time, Marluxia genuinely looked at Lightning. He looked at the way her hair fell, the structure of her pale face, and those eyes. Those pale blue eyes that he remembered so clearly from his past life as Liam Rau Farron.

_Claire._

"You're... a l'Cie." He stated breathlessly.

Lightning didn't look impressed. "Clearly."

Marluxia frowned. She didn't recognize him. Not that he blamed her. But perhaps he could try to help her out.

"And Serah... she's a l'Cie too."

Upon hearing this, Lightning flinched. She took a moment to scrutinize Marluxia before withdrawing her weapon and slowly backed away.

"Who _are_ you?" She asked warily.

Marluxia struggled up to his feet. Claire should've been smarter than that. She'd be able to guess, wouldn't she? Either way, Marluxia wasn't about to tell her the truth. Not right away, anyways.

"Why'd you change your name, Claire?" He inquired. "A new name doesn't make you any stronger, you know."

A wide range of emotions seemed to cross Lightning's face. Recognition, shock, disbelief, sorrow.

"Although," Marluxia continued on, "I have to admit, you were right. You would have made a good soldier. Then again, as a l'Cie, you managed to defeat me just fine."

Lightning began shaking her head. "No. No, this isn't right. You... can't be..."

Marluxia paused to frown at Lightning. "Why not? You know exactly who I am, don't you? So why is it so hard to believe?"

For a moment, Lightning looked lost for words. Suddenly, there was a quick change in the woman and she became stern and serious. Marluxia watched curiously as Lightning marched right up to him. Unfortunately, he wasn't expecting what Lightning was about to do. Lightning's fist connected with his face and he fell back down to the ground.

"Who the hell are you?!" She demanded angrily. "And don't tell me you're my brother, because you're not. My brother is dead!"

Marluxia's expression was quick to mirror Lightning's. "That's right! Your brother is dead! And do you want to know why?"

Marluxia summoned more vines to wind themselves around Lightning's body, holding her in place as she struggled to get free. Marluxia stood up and walked over to the woman, his expression turning dangerous.

"Because your brother was weak."

"No!" Lightning screamed out in protest. "He was not weak! He was the strong person I could look up to!"

"Well then find yourself a new role model." Marluxia hissed back at her. "Liam gave in to the darkness in his heart and ended up losing it. He no longer exists. He feels no emotions and is now part of a group just like him. Emotionless Nobodies. But hey, it's at least better than being a fal'Cie slave."

Marluxia formed a rose in his hands and placed the blood red blossom behind his sister's ear. With a final look upon his beloved Claire, he allowed the vines to recede and summoned the darkness to wisp him away into thin air. Although it had only been for just a moment, he had been able to see her. He was able to give her more reasons to go on as a l'Cie – to give her more strength and motivation. And that was good enough for the nonexistent shadow of a fallen soldier.

Lightning was left to stand there in stunned silence. As she found the will to compose herself, she took the rose from her hair and looked down upon it.

"I guess... that means I have to save you too."

* * *

_**Final Fantasy XIII**__ is © 2009 Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix. __**Kingdom Hearts**__ is © 2002 Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix, and Disney. No copyright infringement intended._


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